'Daylight robberies' claims but refs right

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Cries of "we was robbed" will gather momentum in the next few days after the two Rugby Championship test matches in South Africa and Argentina yesterday.

Englishman Wayne Barnes awarded a penalty to the Springboks at Ellis Park, Johannesburg, with three minutes left on the clock as the All Blacks succumbed 27-25 to break a 22-test unbeaten run.

Patrick Lambie made it look easy from the 55-metre mark at the Highveld.

Did Barnes get it wrong or was Liam Messam guilty as charged of shoulder-charging fellow bench player Schalk Burger?

Sure, Burger was falling into the tackle.

But Messam didn't appear to be wrapping his arm around the ball carrier to absolve himself of blame well before driving into his noggin.

The finger will also be pointed at Welshman Nigel Owens in the historic 21-17 victory to the Argies over the Wallabies in Mendoza.

Owens sent captain Michael Hooper to the naughty chair with several minutes to go for challenging a clearing kick from fullback Joaquin Tuculet.

Did the whistle blower overreact?

No, because it's blatantly obvious the world-class openside flanker shouldn't have flung himself at Tuculet who was already in mid-air, in kicking the ball.

Everything suggests Hooper had the opportunity to pull out, but he instead had Tuculet hitting the deck after smacking into the fullback's head with his posterior.

Turning one's back to oncoming traffic will never be a solid argument in defence.

If anything, the officials embarked on a journey of common sense in the second half after the ref flashed a yellow card at fullback Israel Folau for a dangerous tackle on a Puma in mid-air.

The TMO intervened after watching TV footage to notify Owens that Folau was not guilty as charged. Slow-motion replay showed Folau had inadvertently tripped on the foot of a Puma forward, who had shoved him.